City to consider ban on Hypolita Street musicians

The 2012 ordinance prohibiting street performances on Hypolita Street from Cordova Street to St. George Street only served to push them to Hypolita’s east side, merchants told St. Augustine City Commission on Monday night.

Ray Dominey, owner of a store in the Casa del Hidalgo, said the ordinance still allows musicians to play 50 east of St. George, from the trolley stop to Avenida Menendez.

“The number of them has increased tenfold over the past year,” Dominey told the commission. “The situation here is now worse than it ever was on the west end. I have a petition signed by all the businesses on the east end. We ask you to modify the ordinance to include the east end.”

Letters from the owners of the tourist trains and trolleys cite the narrow road and the fact that pedestrians walk on the street rather than on the sidewalks where musicians have parked themselves, he said.

“This poses a very real hazard,” he said. “It is unsafe and causes a loss to business as fewer people want to come here. It’s a daily issue.”

He showed the board of a photo of a ragged man sitting on the sidewalk, his bicycle chained to the gate of the Spanish Garden, and another shot of a man holding a banjo who played outside his office window all day long.

“They’re not there when the weather’s bad,” Dominey said. “But every beautiful day, every weekend, every holiday, they’re there,” he said.

He also showed photos of the Casa del Hidalgo shrubbery, which he says is being destroyed by the musicians either sitting on it or storing their instruments, bicycles and other belongings behind it.

“That is city property. It’s really been degraded over the past year,” he said, showing another photo of what looks like young kids in a group sitting on the sidewalk.

“Some of these kids don’t look like they are old enough to be on the street,” he said.

There was no vote after Dominey expressed his concerns, but commissioners instructed City Attorney Ron Brown to look into writing a modification of the ordinance.

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Street entertainers on St. George Street, quite the local cause-celebre back in the 1990s, complete with a Kite-Shop owning villain and the sign-carrying, marching types out to defend free expression. I was on their side, back in 'dem days.

Funny thing about that,though. The entertainers themselves, back then, were remarkably talented people. Anyone remember Eric the Juggler?
Or Jeff the One Man Band?
Great local folk singer, Rafael Something-Or-Other?

Those guys could gin up a crowd and hold them captive. It was quite a different scene from "stinking hoboes who know three guitar chords strumming their way to a fresh 40 ouncer, one nickel at a time" the 'street entertainer' scene has devolved into. OK, yes, I generalize a bit and I'm sure if you were to ask any of the above referenced artists, they'd probably side with the bums and not me on this, but I guess my opinion has changed right alongside the street 'entertainers' themselves.

I supported street entertainers when street entertainers were entertaining. What we have today is, for the most part, just another manifestation of our towns obnoxious magnetism to beggars and bums who, frankly speaking, I'm totally over slumming up the city center.

I hope they city can figure out a way to bring 'entertainment' back into street entertainers. In the meantime, unpopular though it may be with all the cool kids, gotta side with the businesses on this one. I wouldn't want most of those urchins anywhere near my operation.

I dont care for any music, whether hand played or a recording in a public place. Once i enter an establishment, then i willingly subject myself to whatever noise they have to offer, but on the streets, i prefer not to hear any of it.

Other cities have resolved this issue by licensing street musicians (Alexandria VA case in point).
The city then can control the number of performers and the locations at which they can perform. The licenses require annual renewals. The city can also create a "standard" of behavior for the licensee with the potential of the performer losing his/her license to someone else. Licenses would be renewed annually.

Music is a means of self expression and that is well covered by the first amendment. Any time the city attempts to limit our freedom of speech then we lose another chip off our basic rights. If the kids are minors and out too late then call the little bastards' parents or send them to juvenile detention if the "parents" cannot be located. If their parents see a possibility of losing custody of their brats as well as the food stamps and welfare then they will shorten their kids' leash.